Nigeria's Western Region established a very early, ambitious, original education policy when self-government began in 1952, adopting the African nationalist wisdom that education could spearhead a development strategy for genuine independence. Much of this paper analyzes the philosophy and recounts the implementation of this comprehensive, indigenously focused program. Special retrospective emphasis is accorded its chief architect Stephen Awokoya, regional Minister of Education, 1952-1956, whom scholars of African education and development have neglected, and the similarly neglected features which his policy incorporated alongside its best known detail, free universal primary education. The paper then reviews prominent Africanist literature (Foster, Abernethy, Moumouni, Amin, Peel) which since 1960 questions the basic assumption equating education with development, on grounds of performance and cost. Awokoya and his Western Region legacy is assessed from this critical perspective, thus offering comparison of a pioneer African educational policy with current realities. (Author)